Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

December 4, 2011

Durban, South Africa: Indigenous demand climate justice

Tom Goldtooth, IEN, Global Day of Action Durban

Ben Powless, Mohawk, COP 17 Durban, South Africa

Photos, video and article from COP 17 ongoing in Durban, South Africa

Riot Police Block Most Affected by Climate Change from Entering Climate Conference

December 2, 2011 by Agence France Presse by Alexander Joe and Marlowe Hood

DURBAN, South Africa ­-- Bearing the message that their livelihoods were in peril, hundreds of women farmers tried Friday to gatecrash UN climate talks in Durban, where they were peacefully held back by police. The women, from 10 countries across southern Africa, converged on the conference to testify how storms and heatwaves, intensified by climate change, were wreaking havoc on an already meagre sustenance.
http://climate-connections.org/2011/12/04/riot-police-block-most-affected-by-climate-change-from-entering-climate-conference
Global Exchange, Indigenous Environmental Network, Global Justice Ecology Project
PRESS CONFERENCE DEC. 6, 2011

RIGHTS OF NATURE: A Legal Framework to Hold Industry Accountable to the Earth   
Under current law, nature is property, submitted to the onslaught of corporate greed. How different would our world look if the Amazon could sue Chevron for damages, or if BP were legally beholden to the Gulf of Mexico? What if the law protected the rights of Gauteng and Mpumalanga from Acid Mine Drainage and the rivers in Durban and stopped the pollution? With the world's attention on the COP 17, it is time to join Ecuador, Bolivia and 2 dozen communities in the United States that have established the legal basis of Rights for Nature.
WHERE: UN COP17, Kosi Palm 
WHEN: 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 6, 2011
WHO: 
* Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network, US
* Pablo Solon, former UN Ambassador from the Plurinational State of Bolivia
* Desmond D'Sa, Coordinator, South Durban Community Environmental Alliance
* Natalie Greene, Coordinator, Rights of Nature Program, Fundacion Pachamama and President, CEDENMA, Ecuador
* Cormac Cullinan, Environmental Attorney, EnAct International, South Africa
* Shannon Biggs, Community and Nature's Rights Director, Global Exchange, USA
Contact:
Shannon Biggs, Global Exchange: 021 835 778 8847
Jeff Conant, Global Justice Ecology Project: 073 623 0619
From Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities against REDD and for Life 

MEDIA ADVISORY
Tuesday, December 6, 2011

PRESS CONFERENCE:
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE CALL FOR A MORATORIUM ON REDD

Indigenous Peoples participating in the UNFCCC negotiations have called for a moratorium on REDD+ today. In a statement to be released to the press, the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities against REDD and for Life declares: "REDD+ threatens the survival of Indigenous Peoples and forest-dependent communities and could result in the biggest land grab of all time. Based on in-depth investigations, a growing number of recent reports provide evidence that Indigenous Peoples are being subjected to violations of their rights as a result of the implementation of REDD+-type programs and policies."

WHERE: UN COP17, ICC, Kosi Palm
WHEN: 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 6, 2011
 Speakers:
     Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network,       
     Turtle Island
            Marlon Santi, former President of CONAIE, Ecuador
            Berenice Sánchez, MesoAmerican Indigenous Womens BioDiversity Network, Mexico
            Helena Paul, EcoNexus
            Others TBA
 Contact:
Jeff Conant, Global Justice Ecology Project:(0)73 623 0619
PRESS ADVISORY:  Monday, December 5, 2011
En français ci-dessous
Media Advisory: Climate Justice Now! Press Conference
-Photo Ops-
The global Climate Justice Now! network will hold a press conference to discuss the radical new agenda that is needed to achieve climate justice and save the planet
(English, Spanish and French translation)
Kosi Palm room, Tuesday 6 December, 13:30-14:00
Speakers include:
Nnimmo Bassey, winner of the 2010 Right Livelihood Award (Nigeria) [to be confirmed]
Kandi Mosset, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara,Indigenous Environmental Network, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (North America)
Tomoko Kashiwakazaki, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development: Women and Gender Constituency (Thailand)
Alberto Gomez, La Via Campesina International Coordinating Committee (Mexico)
Tasha Peters, Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, (Canada)
Moderator: Tetet Lauron, IBON International (Philippines)
The dominance of "the 1%" corporate elite over "the 99%" of the people is being challenged around the world. These same tensions and dynamics are at play here at the UNFCCC COP-17, which has been taken over by the interests of corporations. The UNFCCC process is betraying the interests of people globally while providing industry with new opportunities to profit from climate chaos.
Meanwhile, there is great debate in the halls of the ICC about the future of the Clean Development Mechanism, Carbon Markets, REDD+ and the Kyoto Protocol itself. Should these industry-friendly schemes continue or is the process so corrupt and bankrupt that it needs to be eliminated and replaced by truly just and effective climate mitigation strategies?
Climate Justice Now! speakers will address these issues from perspectives of the global climate justice movement and present real, community-based solutions.
 Contact:
Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project +27 (0)78 632 2801 (English)
Maxime Combes, Attac France, +27 (0)72 063 2835 (French)
Jeff Conant, GJEP, +27 (0)73 623 0619 (Spanish)
-----------------------------
Info Presse : Conférence de presse de Climate Justice Now!
 (Opportunités pour photos)
Le réseau pour la justice globale Climate Justice Now ! tiendra une conférence de presse pour présenter le radical et nouvel agenda nécessaire pour la justice climatique et sauver la planète.
(Traduction en anglais, espagnol et français)
Salle Kosi Palm - mardi 6 décembre - 13h30 - 14h
Interviendront:
Nnimmo Bassey, Amis de la Terre International, lauréat du Prix Nobel Alternatif en 2010 (Nigeria) [à confirmer]
Kandi Mosset, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Indigenous Environmental Network, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (North America)
Tomoko Kashiwakazaki, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development:     Gender CC (Thailand)
Alberto Gomez, Comité international de coordination de La Via Campesina (Mexique)
Tasha Peters, Youth Delegation, Occupy COP17 (Canada)
Modérateur : Tetet Lauron, IBON International (Philippines)
La domination des 1% de l'élite économique et financière, sur les 99% de la population est contestée partout sur la planète. Ces mêmes tensions et les mêmes dynamiques ont cours ici à la COP-17, qui est aujourd'hui dominé par les intérêts économiques des entreprises. Le processus de la CCNUCC est en train de trahir les intérêts des populations tout en fournissant au monde économique de nouvelles opportunités de tirer profit du chaos climatique.
Pendant ce temps, se trame dans les couloirs de l'ICC un grand débat sur l'avenir du Mécanisme de Développement Propre (MDP), des marchés du carbone, de REDD + et du Protocole de Kyoto lui-même. Ces mesures favorables à l'industrie doivent-elles continuer ou bien ce processus est-il tellement corrompu et en faillite qu'il faudrait qu'il soit éliminé et remplacé par des stratégies réellement justes et efficaces face aux dérèglements climatiques ?
Les intervenants de Climate Justice Now ! aborderont ces enjeux depuis la perspective du mouvement global pour la justice climatique et vont présenter des solutions réelles basées sur les pratiques locales des populations.
Contact :
Maxime Combes, Attac France, +27 (0) 720632835, maxime.combes@gmail.com  (Français)
Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project +27 (0)78 632 2801 (Anglais)
Jeff Conant, GJEP, +27 (0)73 623 0619 (Espagnol) 

VIDEO: Delegation of the Indigenous Environmental Network from US and Canada protest Shell in Durban, South Africa, with Africans, Spanish news video:



Now, bring in the clowns ... Uncle Sam and his 1 percent ...

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